Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Paolo

The Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul stands in the upper town of Morano Calabro, near the castle. Its layered interior preserves sculpture by Pietro Bernini, paintings attributed to the Pomarancio and carved choir stalls within a church whose origins may reach back to around the year 1000.

Why it matters

The church is one of Morano's oldest and most important sacred buildings. Its medieval foundation and detached bell tower precede the late-Baroque interior that reshaped the church in the eighteenth century.

What to notice

Among the artworks are marble statues by Pietro Bernini: Saints Catherine and Lucia, dated 1592, and Saints Peter and Paul, dated 1601. The church also holds a painting attributed to Cristofaro Roncalli, known as the Pomarancio, a 1602 Immacolata by Pedro Torres and a silver processional cross dated 1445. The carved choir stalls, begun in 1792 and completed in 1805, include medallions painted by Genesio Galtieri.

Context and history

The municipality places the church's origins around the year 1000, while noting that repeated alterations make its oldest architectural phases difficult to isolate. The detached medieval bell tower is among its earliest surviving features. Late-eighteenth-century works gave the interior its Baroque and Rococo character. The dome above the crossing was built in campaigns between 1822 and 1886. Artworks from the suppressed monastery of Colloreto, including Bernini sculptures, became part of the church's collection.